


Sweet Resolutions

by -Insert Octopus Emoji Here- (Kaleidoscream_Kat)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Ultimate Talents (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Healthy Relationships, JUST LET THEM BE HAPPY, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, This ship needs more fluffy things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-24 17:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22061686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaleidoscream_Kat/pseuds/-Insert%20Octopus%20Emoji%20Here-
Summary: New Year's resolutions were often seen as a joke, as promises that lasted a few months before evaporating, but Ruruka was one of the people who took them seriously. She had never broken one in all the time Seiko had known her. Each year, she made exactly one resolution and followed it without faltering. The one she'd decided to make this year was something Seiko never expected—and she definitely didn't expect that one promise to turn into so much more.
Relationships: Andoh Ruruka/Kimura Seiko
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Sweet Resolutions

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short New Year's fic! Since talent isn't as important or prevalent in this AU, obviously Ruruka isn't a manipulative bitch whose insecurity gives her a betrayal complex and ends up making her use and hurt Seiko. (I say that without hate, I love Ruruka dearly.) In other words, they're childhood friends with a HEALTHY and NORMAL friendship.

"It's already half past eleven! Seiko, where are you?"

Seiko sighed away from her phone so Ruruka wouldn't hear and tilted her head back to stare at the stars in the clear December sky. Since eight PM, she'd been on the receiving end of fifty-seven calls and over a hundred texts from her best friend. Ruruka always hosted a New Year's Eve party, and she always insisted Seiko attend even though the pharmacist wasn't exactly a social person. The parties always began at eight, and unlike all the previous years, Seiko hadn’t shown up right at the start of this one. She'd explained many, many times that she'd been kept late at work, and then her train home had been running late, and then she'd needed to take her medicine, and _then_ the next train from her station to the one nearest to Ruruka was delayed…but Ruruka wasn’t necessarily known for her listening skills, not to mention she seemed too worked-up to trust that Seiko would arrive before midnight.

"I just left the station. I'll be there soon," Seiko told her.

"You're walking all alone, this late?" Ruruka sounded concerned. It was fairly evident she hadn’t considered the riskiness of it until now.

"I'll be alright." Seiko's free hand crept to the secret pocket of her jacket on instinct. If she was going to be in a potentially dangerous situation, she kept a few syringes with very painful but not deadly drugs there.

"Are you sure?"

" _Yes_ , Ruruka. I'm sure. I'll be there soon."

Without waiting for a reply, Seiko hung up and put her phone in an inside pocket of her jacket with her wallet. She zipped it up to her neck and shoved her gloved hands into the pockets, ignoring the small sound alerting her to a text message. Ruruka was always adamant about Seiko coming to her New Year's Eve parties, but this year she was unusually pushy, almost like she was desperate to make absolutely sure her friend would be there for some reason.

_Why? I don't talk to many people, I hate noisemakers so much that she banned them, I never participate in the countdown, and I don't even drink because alcohol makes me sick. I don't understand why it's so important to her that I go to her party._

Still, spending New Year’s Eve with Ruruka and probably her few other friends (as well as many people she didn’t know) was more appealing than staying home alone, so she never complained. Ruruka’s attention was constantly being demanded by people and situations alike since she held her parties in her apartment with an open invitation, but she always made time for Seiko, and she was always next to her when midnight hit as a small source of comfort from the deafening noise of the new year being greeted by too many strangers of debatable sobriety.

Another _ding!_ from her phone. Seiko closed her eyes and let out a tired sigh. It was a long walk, but she still knew she’d get to Ruruka’s apartment before midnight. Despite being small and underweight, she wasn’t as frail and weak as she appeared; she was more than capable of making the trek that averaged forty minutes in less than thirty. She’d definitely be at the party by the strike of midnight.

_Ding!_

…If for no other reason, because Ruruka would complain for months if she didn’t.

* * *

Ruruka's confectionery was the size of a restaurant. It actually _did_ serve food and drinks, but it was mainly known for its famous sweets. Its owner lived in the large apartment above. Seiko knew the shop would be locked so she went to the back of the building, where a set of stairs led up to the wide balcony connected to Ruruka's apartment by a sturdy door. She didn't bother knocking, just opening the door and stepping out of the crisp night air.

She was immediately thrust back into it when a bundle of pastel colors all but tackled her in a hug, making her reel and stumble as the overwhelming cocktail of sweet scents from icing to peppermint left her head swimming.

"You made it!" Ruruka noticed happily. Seiko froze up, making no move to return the embrace. The partygoers standing in view of the door were staring, and she didn't want the attention, so she nudged her friend off.

“I told you I would be here,” Seiko reminded her in a mumble. Ruruka just grabbed her hand and dragged her inside, then shut the door.

“Come on, jacket off!” she urged, not even waiting for Seiko to acknowledge the request before reaching out and unzipping it for her. Seiko’s face burned, and she quickly took a step back so she could shrug the garment off herself and give herself space to breathe.

“I’ll put it away for you.”

Seiko jolted and jerked her head up at the sudden voice beside her, caught off-guard at its proximity and too disoriented from Ruruka to recognize it at first. Sonosuke met her eyes, the corners of his lips quirking up slightly, and she relaxed. He and Ruruka had dated since they were thirteen, but they had broken up in August. It wasn’t messy or dramatic, just a peaceful agreement that they had outgrown their relationship and were better off as friends. He was always at Ruruka’s parties as an enforcer of the peace, never hesitating to throw out anyone causing trouble.

“It’s good to see that you made it before midnight, Seiko. Ruruka has been losing her mind about how you might not be here,” he added. Ruruka snatched Seiko’s jacket from its owner’s hands, stormed up to her ex, and shoved it into his chest with a huff.

“Just go put her jacket up!” she ordered, face oddly flushed. His smile widened a bit as he obliged. “It’s almost midnight! Come on, we only have a few minutes before I switch the signs!”

Seiko knew this routine. For as long as she’d known her, Ruruka made one resolution, and unlike most people, she always stayed true to it. She had never broken whatever resolution she made. Now that she had her own apartment, she had a new part of the tradition. She had a metal plaque engraved with her resolution in advance to hang on a hook on her kitchen wall at thirty seconds to midnight. She’d take the old one down with a minute to go, and at exactly thirty seconds, the new one would go up.

Ruruka grabbed Seiko’s hand again and pulled her through the apartment, shoving people aside without a care. There was music playing and screens displaying the countdown all over the place. Glasses of champagne were everywhere so all the guests could easily grab one for the toast at the start of the new year. Seiko spotted people she knew and tried to at least catch their eyes in acknowledgment: Kyoko sitting on the couch with an arm around Celeste, Mikan standing at the buffet table with a small plate of desserts, Ibuki trying to persuade Chiaki to put down her game and dance, Juzo and Kyosuke trying to make a clearly tipsy Chisa drink some water, Gundham feeding his hamsters at the edge of the crowd, Kaede trying her damnedest to keep Miu off the dance floor, Rantaro laughing with Shuichi and Gonta, Kirumi scolding a few rowdy guests with Maki glaring at them from behind her to keep them from trying anything stupid…which meant _everyone_ Seiko knew had come to the party tonight. Which made the fact that Ruruka was holding her hand even more embarrassing. Juzo raised an eyebrow and smirked at her, Rantaro shot her a wink, Kyoko and Celeste exchanged a knowing glance, and Kaede offered an encouraging thumbs-up. They all knew, after all, even though Seiko had done her best to keep it a secret.

Since their first year of high school, Seiko had been harboring a crush on Ruruka. It started as an innocent interest but quickly snowballed out of control until she couldn’t deny she’d fallen in love with a girl who was completely oblivious and would never love her back. Even when their friendship hit a rough patch near the end of high school, Seiko hadn’t been able to shake her feelings for a moment. It especially hurt because she knew Ruruka was bi, and the reason she’d never return her feelings wasn’t because she couldn’t be interested in girls but because she wasn’t interested in Seiko specifically. Usually she could push through the pain (after so many years she was an expert at disregarding her unwanted feelings), but sometimes she still broke down. Ruruka and Sonosuke’s breakup only made it more complicated. But she was content to stay Ruruka’s best friend. If it meant she could still be by her side, she’d always be fine with secret and unrequited love.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Ruruka letting go of her when they came into the kitchen. Seiko glanced at the clock on the stove: 11:57—no, now it said 11:58. Ruruka was at the fridge, taking out two bottles. She grabbed a pair of empty champagne glasses and quickly poured one glass from each bottle.

“Okay, sparkling white grape juice for you,” she held out one of the glasses, which Seiko accepted, “and champagne for me.” She put the bottles back in the fridge and set her glass on the counter. The last digit on the clock changed; Ruruka hastened to take down the sign that said “Spend at least an hour outside every day” and put it down. She picked up the one lying facedown on the counter, her shoulders visibly rising and falling in deep breaths.

“Ruruka? Are you alright?” Seiko asked quietly.

“Just…a little bit nervous. When I put it up, I want you to read it right away, alright?” Ruruka requested, her voice trembling.

“O…okay…?” Seiko agreed, confused.

“Ruruka, thirty seconds,” Sonosuke informed her from the entrance to the kitchen. Ruruka nodded and hung the plaque, then stepped aside to let Seiko see and picked up her glass.

"'Learn how to make and keep making sugar-free sweets,'" Seiko read aloud. She blinked a few times, but the words didn't change. "That's your resolution? But...you always say sweets aren't sweets without sugar..."

"Well, I changed my mind. If they taste the same, they're still my sweets. And then you can finally try them! You'll try them...right?" Ruruka asked, fidgeting nervously.

"Of course I will," Seiko confirmed quietly, still a bit shellshocked. Of all the things Ruruka could have chosen for her big resolution, this was the most unexpected one imaginable.

"Hey, eleven seconds to midnight!" someone in the crowd yelled, immediately followed by cheers and the start of the shouted countdown.

"New year, new resolution, new start. Right?" Ruruka stepped closer with a smile, reaching out to take off Seiko's mask with her free hand and drop it on the counter, presumably for the eminent toast. The pharmacist nodded, smiling back, because this resolution told her that her best friend _cared_ , and unlike words, it left no room for doubt.

The countdown hit five. Ruruka's cheeks were rapidly turning pink, and she looked increasingly nervous with each number. Seiko opened her mouth to ask if she was alright, but the question was drowned out by the chorus of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" that filled the room. Or it would have been, if she'd managed to ask it. But she couldn't. Not when, a second before midnight, Ruruka had put her free hand on her cheek and the other arm carefully around her neck to hold her still without spilling her champagne while she stepped closer. Not when, exactly as the clock hit zero, Seiko found herself caught in a kiss.

She didn't have the luxury of preparation, nor that of thought. It was too sudden and unexpected. If Seiko had the chance to evaluate the situation for a few seconds, she would have reacted differently. She would have evaded, pushed her friend away, done _something_ sensible. But she could only react in the moment, so she didn't miss a beat; she closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around Ruruka's waist, held her closer, and returned the kiss.

The din of people ringing in the new year faded away in favor of Seiko’s rapid heartbeat pounding in her ears. Ruruka was warm as she pressed flush against her body, and soft. Her lips were soft, the hand on her cheek was soft, her entire body was so _soft_. Ruruka was shapely but far from the toned firmness of an athlete, and it made her all the more comforting to hold. Unsurprisingly, she tasted sweet. Seiko wasn’t familiar with what flavor was what when it came to sweets since she couldn’t eat sugar and felt like she’d be betraying Ruruka if she ate any sweets her best friend hadn’t made, but it was dangerously addictive. She let herself feel everything and think nothing, warmth flooding through her body and filling her chest until she felt it might burst.

This was a moment she’d always wanted, always dreamed of, but never dared to hope for. She’d never let herself truly imagine having this moment. The burning desire she’d suppressed for so many years finally bubbled to the surface: the desire for something so gentle and sweet, just one kiss, just one guilty indulgence in what she fully believed she’d never have. Her friendship with Ruruka was too dear to her to risk damaging, but she hadn’t initiated anything. She was allowing pure instinct overpower logic in response to this moment. She wasn’t overthinking. She wasn’t anxious. She wasn’t second-guessing. She was letting herself relax, trust, hope, feel…she was letting herself just _be_.

After about ten seconds that felt more like ten hours, Ruruka slowly moved back. Seiko opened her eyes and glazed-over bright blue stared back at her. Ruruka blinked away her dazed expression and smiled slightly, almost shakily. She let the hand on Seiko's cheek rest on the pharmacist's shoulder instead. She didn't move to step away, didn't scoff, didn't look upset.

"You kissed me back," the confectioner noticed quietly, her shy smile not slipping.

"Was I...was I not supposed to...?" Seiko asked. The gravity of what she'd done crashed down on her and she told herself to breathe, to not have a panic attack right now, _please_ not now.

"Well...I was hoping you would," Ruruka replied. "Because if you did, maybe that would mean..."

"Would mean...?" Seiko prompted when her friend trailed off. Her heart was racing but she didn’t dare hope. She pushed the suspicions down so she wouldn’t be disappointed.

"Maybe it would mean, you're in love with me too. Because I am. I'm in love with you, and I thought you probably felt the same way but I wasn't sure. I decided to start making sugar-free sweets because I love you. If...if you don't love me back…we can forget that kiss ever happened."

There was a pause as Seiko tried to collect her thoughts. Ruruka bit her lip and looked away. It didn't seem like she was lying, but Seiko didn't make a habit of trusting what seemed too good to be true. It was one of the ways she protected herself against pain. She'd always been too softhearted. It left her vulnerable and easily hurt, but she couldn't change. She’d tried, but it was just who she was.

_Still…I can usually tell when Ruruka's sincere and when she's not, and I don't see anything but sincerity. And her resolutions are a tradition she never breaks. She made hers because of me,_ for _me. Not for herself._

_This might be real._

"And..." Seiko faltered and took a breath to collect what courage she had. "And what if I do?"

"Huh?" Ruruka cocked her head and met her eyes hopefully. Seiko swallowed her insecurities, her fears, her doubts, all the things compelling her to back out of saying it, the urge to make something up or tell Ruruka never mind.

"If I do love you back. What would we do?" she asked, barely able to summon more than a whisper. Ruruka broke into a grin.

"Well, then I'd kiss you again and we'd start dating. And I'd be hard to handle sometimes, and I might be a little jealous and possessive, and it would probably take time to adjust, but we'd still be happy," she predicted.

"That sounds better than forgetting," Seiko said. She held her breath, the nagging anxiety in the back of her mind still reminding her that this might be a lie. The fear gnawed at her and made her tremble, but Ruruka smiled—widely, genuinely—and a seed of warm hope settled in her heart.

"Good. It sounds better to me, too,” she agreed. She stepped away from Seiko and raised her champagne glass. “Wanna toast to being girlfriends?” she offered, and the word left a warm buzz in Seiko’s mind. She nodded and held out her own glass. Ruruka smiled, gently clinked them together, and took a long sip of her champagne. After taking a moment to process, Seiko raised her glass to her lips for just a couple seconds before lowering it.

“Happy New Year,” she said quietly. Ruruka smiled, plucked Seiko’s glass from her hand, and set both of them down on the counter.

“Happy New Year, Seiko,” she replied, stepping into her and resting her arms over her shoulders to absentmindedly play with her hair. “So, about that kiss…”

Seiko was dimly aware that there were strangers around them, that people could see them, that some were openly watching them. She was slightly more aware of Sonosuke standing off to the side with a satisfied half-grin half-smirk, arms crossed as he nodded approval like he’d known Ruruka’s plan all along—which, Seiko realized, he probably had. But for once, she didn’t care about being the subject of so much attention. She didn’t fidget, didn’t shy away. She just wrapped her arms around Ruruka’s waist and held her closer.

“I love you,” Ruruka whispered, and Seiko didn’t get the chance to reply before her girlfriend kissed her, but they both knew exactly what she wanted to say.

_I love you too._

**Author's Note:**

> I threw it together in less than a day, so I hope it was okay! Definitely not up to any of my normal standards, but I already missed the chance to post one holiday fic (a Celegiri Christmas fic I couldn't finish in time), so I wasn't gonna pass up this one. I hope it was enjoyable.


End file.
